Wind Chaser
by Eva aka Pinkfox
Summary: MASK gets a new member. This brings some changes in her world, but also in the MASK world. SUSPENDED!
1. A new member

**__**

Disclaimer: MASK and all recognizable things belong to DIC Enterprises. Only Evadne Hathaway and the things around her are mine. 

Authors note: I am not super familiar with MASK and the characters. Please forgive my mistakes. This story takes place after the episode "Raiders of the Orient Express", but the race episodes never happened.

Wind Chaser

Eva

Chapter 1 

A new member

The man was in his late thirties looked around the table. The table was filled with ten men and one woman. "The reason I have called you here is a bit unusual. Today we don't have a mission. As you know, some time ago the PNA has given us several new resources. And as a part of that Bruce, Alex and I have been working on a new mask and car. These have been finished recently. We have now started the process of finding another agent." 

"What kind of car and mask have you thrown together?" Buddy Hawks asked. 

"Alex, would you like to show it?" 

"Certainly. The new car is Wind Chaser. It has a large wind generator which can create dust or sand storms. Also it has four machine guns and missiles at the rear." Alex showed them a holographic model of a pink Ferrari 550 Maranello, decorated with white streaks. Then the car transformed into battle mode. The headlights disappeared, revealing machine guns. On the roof also two guns appeared and the rear of the car lifted up, showing two small missile launchers and the exhaust of the wind generator. 

"The mask is named Psylocke. It's different from our masks. We activate our masks with a voice command and further we control it with our minds. But this mask goes a step further. This mask allows two or more minds to interface through the mask. With Psylocke the user will be able read minds when necessary, communicate speechless or the user can influence people with it on a small scale by forcing her will. The more practice, the more the user can do." The holographic image showed the pink with white streaks decorated mask. The visor extended from the bridge of her nose where it was small to the side of the face where it was wide. It looked a little bit like butterfly wings and the visor was colored a darker shade of pink. 

The group studied the designs. "Now I understand why you used a name from the X-men comic for the mask. And I pity the guy with all the pink." Brad Turners comment was. 

"Who said it was gonna be a new male team member?" Matt said. "We have been looking for several persons who would be suited for the new instruments. This afternoon I have an appointment with the person from which we thought that is the most qualified. It is a woman. And many of the others also. But with some luck you will meet the new member this evening." 

***

Evadne glanced at her watch with a pissed look. "Today had to be the day that a big car accident would have to happen." she murmured while she placed the final stitch in the arm of a little girl. 

Finally she could leave and she was left without hope that she could change from her uniform to her normal cloths. She toyed a moment with the thought to take her car, but she decided against it so she could fix up her hair and make-up in the taxi.

She hurried outside and signaled a taxi. When the taxi was driving, she pulled out a hairbrush and some make-up and she managed to get her face and hair in alignment. 

The taxi stopped for a big manor. Evadne paid the cab driver and arranged her uniform. Then she made her way to the door and rang. 

The door was opened by a boy about twelve years old. He looked with surprise at her nurse's uniform and Evadne smiled. "I am Evadne Hathaway. I have an appointment with Matt Trakker." 

Suddenly a woman with grey hair appeared behind the boy. "Miss Hathaway, Mr. Trakker is expecting you. Please come inside." 

Evadne smiled again when she stepped inside. "Would you please follow me to Mr. Trakker's office?"

Evadne followed the man though richly decorated hallways to a spacious office where she was offered a place. 

***

Matt carefully scrutinized the woman before him. She had long black hair, which was styled in a simple bun in her neck. Her eyes were a clear blue. Her face was tanned and she seemed to have some oriental blood. 

"My excuse for the way I look. There was an emergency at the hospital. I didn't have the time to change."

"Do not worry about you appearance, Miss Hathaway. I know that you were completing you're duties."

"Mr. Trakker, I was wondering why you wanted this appointment with me. I remember that my father spoke about you, but I never met you personally." 

"That is a long story. But first I have to tell that everything we will discuss here is confi-dential. Breaking the secrecy can lead to incarceration." 

"I understand." 

"Miss Hathaway, are you familiar with the organizations MASK and VENOM?" 

"I am." 

"I am one of the people who arrange everything that is going on around the MASK organization. Momentarily the group has twelve members. But the group also gained a new car and mask recently and that means that we have to find a new member. We have done research on several people. You came out as one of the best candidates."

It stayed silent for a few moments. Evadne was staring at him with an open mouth. She shook her head and scraped her jaw of the floor. "Me? A MASK agent? Why me?" 

"You have several skills. You have medical training and you're father taught you a lot what he learned in his spying career. You know your way in the higher classes and you have excellent martial arts skills. But the most important thing is that you have the training to work with the mask…" Matt explained about how her training and upraise were necessary to control the mask and answered a few of her questions. But at the end he had a question: "Do you want to join us?" 

It was silent for about ten minutes. "I accept it… But what do we do now?" 

She was surprised when Matt walked over to the wall and keyed in a code on a small console. Evadnes mouth fell open when a small piece of the wall shoved away to show an elevator. 

"Please come with me." Matt said while turned towards her. Evadne scraped her jaw of the floor again and followed Matt into the elevator.

***

They arrived in the MASK headquarters at Boulder Hill. Matt gave Evadne a tour and showed her Wind Chaser and the Psylocke. Evadne was also invited to stay for diner, so she could meet her future colleague's. 

***

Evadne made her way in the elegant dining room. A group of people was seated around the large table. Evadne scanned the faces. They weren't unfriendly, but the taxing glances at her made her feel uneasy. 

She was glad that Matt had given her the opportunity to change in the cloths she had with her. Matt might have told her that her appearance didn't matter, but Evadne felt more at ease in what she wore now. She was wearing a knee long black skirt, a white silken blouse, a dark pink blazer and black pumps. She wore her hear lose, with some of it held back by a pearly hair clip. 

She walked over to the empty place besides Matt and smiled. 

***

Matt stood up when he saw her enter. Moving calmly she made her way towards him. When she stood besides him, he addressed the group. "Lady and gentlemen, this is Evadne Hathaway. She is the new team member. Evadne, these are Bruce Sato, Brad Turner, Dusty Hayes, Alex Sector, Hondo MacLean, Buddy Hawks, Gloria Baker, Julio Lopez, Ace Riker, Calhoun Burns and Jacques LaFleur." He pointed to each team member when they called their name.

Evadne nodded towards the group and took her place. At one side Matt sat, at the other side a man with Asian looks. Bruce Sato, if she remembered correctly. Directly across her sat a woman with shoulder length brown hair. The only woman in the company, besides herself. 

A bald man with a red beard sitting close by was the first one to address her while the soup was served. "What do you do in your daily life, Evadne?"

"I work in Angel Hospital. I am an ER nurse." Evadne told. The group soon entered a comfortable conversation, very busy with getting to know the new member. And in return she got to know her new team mates. 

***

Evadne fell into a split to evade Gloria's high kick. A few moments later she was on her feet again and flipped towards Gloria. She dropped towards the ground and attempted to sweep Gloria's feet away. To her surprise it worked and Gloria crashed on the ground. 

Evadne stood up and reached Gloria a hand. "I hope you weren't taking it easy on me." she said laughing. 

"I wouldn't dream of it. For being on the team you have to stay fit." Gloria walked over to a bench on the side and took a water bottle. After taking a few sips she handed it to Evadne. "Where did you learn to fight?" 

Evadne also took a few sips. "My parents started teaching me at very young age. My mother is of Asian decent and learned it from her father. My father learned it in the army. He also worked a couple of years as a spy. Most of the things he learned, he also taught them to me. And to my two brothers." 

***

The next few weeks Evadne didn't have to accompany a mission. Yet she spent a lot of time in Boulder Hill, training and getting familiar with her car, mask and the headquarters itself. 

On the area's she was struggling with, her other team members were more than willing to help her out. Getting the mask under control was the most difficult part, but finally she managed in a way that she hadn't expected. She discovered that the state she reached with meditation did the trick. From there she worked until she controlled Psylocke.


	2. The first time

Chapter 2

The first time

Evadne just walked in the lady's room in Angel Hospital when her watch started flashing. 

She bit on her lit, trying to suppress the nervous feeling that made her legs a bit wobbly. Of course she had known that she would be summoned one day, but it was still unexpected. 

Immediately she turned around, made sure someone knew that she was away on an emergency and got in her car to make her way to Boulder Hill. 

***

Sitting around the table were Matt, Bruce, Alex, Gloria and as last Evadne. 

"VENOM is trying to poison this lake. It's the main drink water facility for the most little cities around it. Since those cities are in the dessert it's the only constant water supply they have. Okay team, let's roll out." 

The masks came down from the ceiling and everyone grabbed their mask. Evadne placed the mask over her head. She also wore a white suit with numerous pink streaks decorating it. The gloves and boots were also pink.  

***

The vehicles approached a small city at the lake side. Rhino drove in the middle, flanked by Shark and Wind Chaser. Thunderhawk flew above the group.

For so far they hadn't seen a sign of VENOM, but no one was shocked when suddenly Manta appeared in the sky. Vanessa was followed by Rax on Piranha. 

"Everyone ready for battle." Matt's voice came in on Evadnes radio. Evadne pressed a button on her dashboard, causing machine guns to appear by the head lights and on the roof. Also the rear lifted up to show her missile launchers and the exhaust of the wind generator. She veered away slightly from Rhino and noticed Shark doing the same on the other side.

Suddenly the first laser bullets streaked trough the air, fired by Manta and Piranha. Evadne evaded them and then fired self, aiming on Piranha. Against Evadnes luck Rax veered away and he was coming right at her. 

She veered away from the group, with Rax following. Shark and Rhino didn't have the time to help her because suddenly Jackhammer appeared. The same was for Thunderhawk who was being kept busy by Manta. 

Evadne activated her wind generator and disappeared in the dust cloud, in mean time keeping close taps on where the others wore. Rax was following her trough the cloud. Suddenly an idea popped in her head. She drove around the group and passed Gloria. 

Quickly she radioed to Gloria: "Rax is coming after me. Can you hit him?" 

Gloria heard the transmission and locked on. Then she fired. Rax lost his balance and he fell on the ground.  "That was Rax for the moment, Evadne." 

Evadne quickly sent her thanks and focused on Jackhammer.   

***

In the sky Matt wasn't doing so well against Manta. It appeared if VENOM had been working on Manta or something. 

Evadne kept an eye on the doings of Jackhammer, but also at Manta and Thunderhawk. Suddenly Shark shot by followed closely by Jackhammer. Evadne aimed at the car and released a barrage of bullets. Then she put her foot on the pedal and went after him, still firing lasers. 

"Evadne, veer of to the right." Bruce his voice sounded trough her comm system. Evadne did what he said and missile streaked past her. Dagger lost control and Shark, Rhino and Wind Chaser turned their attention to Thunderhawk and Manta. 

They saw Matt flying over and took a sharp turn towards them. Thunderhawk then turned his nose towards the ground and as soon as it touched the ground it converted back to a normal car.  

Manta followed him and both raced by. Wind Chaser, Rhino and Shark followed immediately.

"Evadne, you follow me. We are heading towards the water processing plant Bruce, Gloria keep Manta busy. But you have to stay ready to go into the lake, Gloria." Evadne immediately veered of, following Thunderhawk. Manta tried to do the same, but her way was blocked by Shark. 

***

By the water processing plant, both Matt and Evadne left their vehicles. 

"This is where the demands were send from. Their treats say that they will release a pod from made an alloy that will solve in one hour in water. We must find the pod before they release it. If they do it, it's up to Gloria." Matt briefed Evadne quickly. 

Together they headed inside. They continued for ten minutes trough silent hallways. "You should have expected to walk in by someone." Evadne commented. 

Stopping for a moment Matt took the time to use the heat seekers on Spectrum. "There are several people gathered close by. Two guards are keeping watch. That must be the personnel of the plant." He whispered. 

"Perhaps we can find out from the guards where the pod is being kept. And we can free the personal at the same time." 

Matt agreed with Evadnes suggestion and both headed towards the room. 

***

Outside Manta was still firing at Rhino and Shark. Rhino had taken most hits because it wasn't so maneuverable as Shark. Finally Alex and Bruce decided it was time to bring in the big artillery. From the AV a big canon arose and it started firing at Manta. 

Gloria did her best in the meantime to fire in such a way that she kept Manta in the firing range of Rhino without that the canon had to change his position to much. 

Finally Manta was hit twice and went down with large smoke cloud. 

***

After a few minutes walking Matt and Evadne arrived close by the door where the personnel was being kept.

Matt spied around the corner. Then he turned towards Evadne and pointed towards her mask. 

"Psylocke, on." Evadne commanded softly and the visor lighted up. 

'How many guards are there? Just think your answer back." sounded suddenly in Matt's head. 

'Two guards. No special VENOM agents.' Matt thought back. 

Evadne nodded and walked around the corner. The guards suddenly noticed her and came towards her. Her visor shone brighter and the dark pink butterfly form appeared on the foreheads of the guards. 

'Where is the pod being kept? Tell it to me!' she thought towards the men. Forcing her will in their heads one of the men said: "By the outlet of the water." 

Evadne nodded. Then she focused another thought in their heads. 'You are tired. You want to sleep. Sit down and go to sleep. Sleep!' She repeated the thought a few times and the men sat down and a few seconds later they were asleep.  

Evadne shut her mask of and turned towards Matt who came around the corner. He looked down on the sleeping guards. "Works better than shooting them." He commented. Then he knelt down and took the keys from the belt of the left guard. 

After opening the door Matt ordered the men and women in the room to leave the building as silent and fast as possible. 

***

Rhino and Shark kept an eye open, but unlike they expected after Manta had disappeared, nobody of VENOM showed their face.

***

Matt and Evadne hurried towards the outlet. They encountered no guards and it heightened their anxiety. This wasn't exactly the Miles Mayhem method.

"Now we surely should have encountered someone." Matt said and he stopped to run a scan with the help of Spectrum. "There are guards moving around, but nobody is coming our direction.  

They reached the outlet without any trouble and also the pod was found without any trouble. The pod had the size of a football and Matt put it in the special bag he had brought with him. They could leave the outlet without any trouble, but when they entered the hallway, it was filled with soldiers. And in the front were Miles Mayhem and Nash Gorey…

***

"This is too strange. Have you heard any news from Matt and Evadne?" Gloria sent towards Bruce. 

"I haven't. But you are right. This is strange." Bruce sent back. 

"Rhino, come in." Evadnes voice sounded.

"Rhino here." Alex sent. 

"We are in need of assistance." 

"Understood. We are sending help." When Alex sent this, Bruce was already busy securing his mask. 

"Evadne out." Just before the link closed they heard Evadne commanding her mask to activate.

By the time the link had closed, Bruce was running towards the plant. 

***

"Psylocke on." Evadne commanded her mask to activate and she turned her look towards the soldiers. The glow on her visor brightened and two soldiers nearby fell asleep. 

Evadne continued with the soldiers while Matt exchanged blasts with Mayhem and ducked the punches of Gorey. 

***

Bruce sought his way trough the hallways. The few soldiers he encountered were thrown out of the way thanks to Lifter. 

***

Ten minutes later most of the soldiers lay snoring in the hallway and Evadne turned her attention to the last soldier. It was a small, Asian man. She focused on him in the same way as she had done by the other soldiers. 'You are tired. You want to sleep. Sit down and go to sleep. Sleep!'

'No way, bitch. I am not going to sleep. You are going to sleep. Sleep!' the man projected clearly in her head. 

Evadne opened her eyes for a moment. 'This guy won't be so easy to lie down.' She closed her eyes again and regained her focus. 'You are tired. You want to sleep. Sit down and go to sleep. Sleep! You have to sleep! You have to sleep!' 

The man simply sent similar thoughts in return and Evadne tried to focus harder. It wasn't easy. The man was doing exactly the same as what she was trying with him. And she noticed it was working. She felt that it became harder to stay awake. 

***

Bruce made the last turn. Finally he encountered Matt and Evadne. Matt was still fencing of with Mayhem and Gorey. Evadne was standing still, just like the one soldier standing. The others seemed to be asleep. 

"Lifter on." Bruce lifted Gorey up and smashed him against the ceiling. When he landed on the ground Nash Gorey was out cold. 

Suddenly the glow on both the mask of Evadne and on the forehead of the soldier intensified for a second and then both felt sideward.

***

'You go to sleep. Obey my will. Go to sleep.' Evadne couldn't anymore. She was feeling exhausted and the suggestions of the man weren't helping either. She focused on more time, scraping every inch of energy from her body, and sent out the strongest attack she could muster.  

Finally Evadne decided to give in to her exhaustion. Just before her eyes closed she saw the man falling sideward. She had succeeded. Then everything became black.

***

Matt saw Evadne falling. Suddenly Mayhem was lifted of the floor and also he was smacked in the ceiling.  

Matt didn't pay any attention to his enemy, but instead he turned his attention to his fallen comrade. Kneeling down beside her, he removed her mask. To his relieve she was still breathing. Not hesitating he lifted the young woman of the ground. Bruce got her mask and both hurried outside. 

***

Five minutes later they were on their way back to Boulder Hill. VENOM didn't bother them, although they saw Dagger, Rax and Vanessa messing around by a not too well looking Manta.  

***

First she could feel her toes again. The feeling slowly spread out over her entire body. Then she could hear some things clearly. There wasn't much to hear, only the sound of her breathing and the occasional footstep outside. 

Then she could open her eyes. The forms were hazy at first, but they cleared and when she looked she could recognize the small sickbay in Boulder Hill. The next she became aware of the pounding in her head. 

She forced herself to sit up. Immediately she regretted it because the room spun around her. Quickly she lay down again and closed her eyes. 

She opened them again when a door went open. She turned her head towards the sound and smiled when she recognized Julio. "Why am I not surprised to see you here?" 

Julio turned around at the sound of her voice. Then he made his way towards the cot she was lying on. "How are you feeling?" 

"I think okay when my head stops pounding and when I can sit up without the room spinning." Evadne replied. 

***

After Julio had done a few checks on her and when Evadne had gulped down two aspirins Matt and Alex had joined them and they set about finding out what had happened. 

Evadne told what she remembered from the last few minutes that she was awake and Alex had analysed the readings in the mask. 

After an hour of conferring they reached the conclusion about what happened. Alex summarized "To handle your mask you need to have a certain mental discipline. To fight your suggestions you give someone need the same discipline or even a stronger one. The mask only opens the link between two minds, but it does nothing to defend or attack. That all depends on the user and the enemy. What happened there was that the soldier fought Evadnes suggestions with her own. They must have been equally strong in their mental discipline or else they wouldn't have fallen a sleep at the same time." 

"Would there be a way to add a safe guard so her mind is protected? Otherwise I have my doubts it will be safe to use the mask again. If this happens again… " Julio said.    

"That would be fairly easy. I have already started to program it in the mask. Next time this won't happen again."  


	3. A collegue's opinion

Chapter 3

A colleague's opinion

"Again a new agent!!!" Mayhem growled and whacked his hand on the table. 

"This is a hard one. She took a complete group of soldiers down with that mask." Rax stated. 

 "I say we take revenge. Just get some people in the city and shoot them down. MASK needs to learn that they can't play with VENOM." Cliff Dagger stated his opinion. 

"You're not gonna take just on some of the people of this city. When MASK notices this, they will go after us, with their complete group. And we aren't in the condition to handle that now." Mayhem said. 

The group fell into a discussion about their next plan of action. 

***

From the room sounded giggling. Evadne pushed the door open and stepped in lounge the nurses used on their breaks. "What is so funny?" Evadne asked with a big smile. 

Two young women looked up. One had long honey blond hair, the other short red hair. "Nothing. We were merely discussing your new lover." The one with the blond hair said. 

"New lover?... Amelia, where the heck are you talking about?" Evadne was really confused. Then it suddenly clicked in her head. With all the time she spent at Boulder Hill her boy crazy friend and roommate must have thought she had a new lover or something. "I don't have a new lover. I just have met some new friends. We have a similar interest. That's all."

"I told you she doesn't have a new boyfriend. No wonder they call you boy crazy." The red haired nurse commented laughing. 

"Thank you, Kim. At least one who thinks I am not so boy crazy as my friend." Evadne answered and stuck her tough out to Amelia. 

"Attention, several wounded coming in. All medical staff on alert." sounded suddenly trough the speaker. The three women looked up and hurried outside.    

***

The three nurses hurried outside. Kim went of to another ambulance and Amelia and Evadne went to the closed ambulance. A doctor was also on there. The three hurried inside and Evadne worked with the doctors and other nurses until the patient was stabilized. 

Then she went over to the last patient who was brought in. A doctor and Amelia followed her also. The paramedic gave the information about the boy's condition, but Evadne didn't hear it. She was shocked to see who it was. "Scott?" 

Evadne, Amelia and the doctor treated the boy. Luckily Scott wasn't hurt to badly. "Is his father already notified?" Evadne asked. 

"You know this boy?" the doctor asked her. 

"You don't know his identity? The boy's name is Scott Trakker. His fathers name is Matt Trakker." Evadne told him. 

Suddenly four new patients came in. The doctor hurried towards them. "You call his father. Amelia, you come with me." he called towards her. 

Amelia followed the man and Evadne wanted to go to the reception, when she heard a sound behind her. Scott was coming around. He opened his eyes and looked around. His eyes fell on Evadne. "Evadne? Where am I? "

She walked over to him and said: "You're in Angel Hospital. How are you feeling?" 

"My head and my ankle…" 

"That's possible. Scott, I am gonna warn one of the doctors and then I am gonna call your father. Okay?" Scott nodded and she warned the doctor who had treated Scott. Then she    carefully evaded the people on her way to the reception. She had to make a little phone call.

***

"Trakker Foundation, how can I help you?" the receptionist said. 

"I need to speak with Mr. Trakker. It's concerning Mr. Trakkers son." Evadne said formally. 

"I am afraid Mr. Trakker isn't available right now. He's in a meeting." 

Evadne sighed. 'I wish I could use the secret line.' she thought. "Miss, then you will have to pull Mr. Trakker from his meeting. This is important." Evadne said sternly. 

After some more debating she finally got the woman so far that she was gonna get Matt. 

***

"Who is calling?" Matt asked the woman who entered. 

"Evadne Hathaway. She said it was about your son." the woman stated.

Matt became a bit pale and stood up. He excused himself and went to a side office. "Matt Trakker." 

"Matt, this is Evadne. I am calling from Angel Hospital. Scott has just been brought in. He was involved by a big car accident." sounded from the other side of the line. 

"How is he?" Matt asked. 

"He will be okay. A light concussion, a sprained wrist and a broken ankle. But he asked for you." Evadne told him calmly. 

"I will be there as soon as I can." 

"Come to the ER and ask for me…" Evadne was silent for a few moments and he heard voice calling in the background. "Sorry, they are calling me. I will see you later, Matt." Evadne said. 

Matt put the phone done, hurried back to the meeting room and explained shortly why he had to leave. Then he hurried to the hospital. 

***

"Come with me, Matt." Evadne said when she was called to the reception. Evadne took Matt through some of the hallways to a small private room. 

When they opened the door, the boy in the bed sat up. "Dad?" he said. 

"Hé Scott. How did you end up here?" Matt answered, quasi cheery. 

"I wanted to help a girl on the road. Suddenly one of the cars shoved over to me. I remember looking up and I saw the car coming towards me. Then everything became black… Evadne, the girl I wanted to help?" 

"She will be okay. Thanks to you." 

Someone suddenly knocked on the door. The door opened to show Amelia. She came in with a plate of food. "Dinner for you, Scott. Mr. Trakker, Doctor Landers will be here in a moment to speak with you." 

Amelia handed the plate to Scott. Evadne suddenly noticed her glances at Matt. Then Amelia passed by and said softly: "What a cutie. One of your new friends with similar interests?" 

Evadne turned a bright red when she realised that Matt had heard her friend. "Amelia, didn't you have to collect those stats for Doctor Landers?" and she pushed the girl out of the door. Then she turned towards Matt. "Sorry. That was my boy crazy friend. Every time I meet a man or when I am a little bit more away then she thinks that is normal, I have… You understand what I mean." 

"I do. She is also your roommate?"   

"Yeah. But there is more to her then you think on first sight." Evadne said with a smile. 

"Just like you?" 

"Exactly." Evadne turned around when Scott's doctor entered the room. Evadne quickly left. Outside she leaned to the wall for a few moments. Amelia had been right. Matt was a cutie…

***

"Did you have to do that? It was really embarrassing." Evadne said that evening in the privacy of their flat. 

"It was only a joke. And he is a cutie. You know that."

"He might be a cutie, he is still ten years older then both of us. And he has a son." 

"Why should that matter?" 

"Amelia, when you don't have a boy friend you are always trying to match me with a guy. Matt is a great guy and a great friend, but not my romantic type. Even if he is very cute." Evadne sighed. When Amelia thought a guy was cute, there was no reasoning with her. She tried to think what she should say now, but suddenly her watch flashed. "Sorry Amelia. I had forgotten I had an important meeting." 

With that Evadne made her leave and hurried to her car. Amelia looked after her. 'Here is more going on then just a new group of 'friends with a similar interest'.' she thought. 'This is the first time she kept a secret from me. And she thought I wouldn't see it, while I knew her twenty years. I wonder what it is... I will find out when it's the time." 

***

The next three weeks were a nuthouse for Evadne. She had to pull double shifts, but also VENOM stepped up their attacks. They had started several robberies and they took hostages. It wasn't much vehicle fighting anymore. But often there were injuries among the hostages and that what was why by almost every battle Julio and Evadne were present. 

Amelia started to worry about Evadne. She hardly saw her anymore and she knew that Evadne had had an argument with her superior, Mrs Trenchbull, about her sudden leaves on work. Evadne had dark circles around her eyes.  She claimed that she was with her friends or working when she wasn't home, but Amelia knew very well how Evadnes duty roster was and Evadne didn't have to leave to go to her friends in the middle of the night. And when she left on work, she always claimed she had an emergency, but Amelia didn't have an idea what those emergency's where. 

If the situation didn't change in a few days, she had planned to simply force the truth out of her friend. 

***

Amelia finally caught Evadne early on the morning, while she was on her way out to work. Evadne didn't look to well. Her skin was pale, she had dark circles under her eyes and her eyes itself were bloodshot.

"Evadne, how long do you have to work today?" Amelia opened her question. 

"Double shift again. I am ready at eleven o'clock tonight." Evadne replied, her voice sounding flat. 

Amelia eyed her friend again. "I doubt you're gonna make it to eleven o'clock. I have night shift. I am gonna call the hospital and arrange that I relieve you at nine o'clock. Then you can go to bed early. And no meetings with friends or emergencies this night." 

"Thanks. I hope so. What are you going to do today?" 

"Restocking the fridge. Getting a new pair of trousers. Do I need to pick something up for you?" 

"Now you're talking about it, will you please take the envelope on the table to the bank? Or else I am afraid we can't pay the groceries next months." 

"Of course. And you need to go now. Otherwise Trenchbull will put you on double shifts for another month. See you tonight."         

***

Evadne got some concerned looks from her colleague's. Evadne didn't notice it, because she needed to keep full focus on her work. The only thing that shook her awake was her flashing watch at eleven o'clock in the morning. 

Unlucky enough Trenchbull was on duty also. And there was nothing that Evadne could come up with to escape her. She made her way over to the reception and suddenly noticed the television that was on. It stood on CNN. And on screen was something that she recognized immediately. 

It was a bank, surrounded by the police cars. "And it's also reported that there are more then twenty hostages inside the bank. It's sure that there are injured inside. It's only not known how many. The ones holding the hostages seem to be the well-known terrorist organisation VENOM…" The voice of the news reporter sounded. In the meantime Evadne recognized the vehicles appearing by the bank. Rhino, Thunderhawk and Firefly were the only ones, but Evadne knew that the others would be nearby. 

Evadnes watch flashed again, this time with a sound signal. Evadne looked at her watch. Mrs Trenchbull stood suddenly behind her. "What is that on your watch?" 

Evadne looked at her superior and took a decision. "That is something I can't explain right now. Now I have to leave on another emergency. And when that is finished I promise I will explain everything, but now I don't have the time." she said and left the hospital directly. Leaving a furious Trenchbull behind. 

In her car she got Rhino on the horn and heard that Wind Chaser and Psylocke were already on location. 

***

Amelia looked outside the lady's room. She had heard sounds from outside in the hall. She cursed softly when she saw the situation. A large group of people was huddled together in a corner, being guarded by two figures with a mask on. Other figures with masks on were positioned around the room. She recognized the VENOM masks. Then she pulled her head back in the lady's room.

She could climb outside the lady's room and escape herself, but she had also seen wounded ones and nobody seemed to care for them. For a moment she couldn't decide what to do, but then she took a deep breath and stepped outside. 

Immediately all the heads were turned towards her. One of the figures pointed towards the huddle of people. She went halfway, but then turned towards one. "There are wounded people. I am an ER nurse. May I take care of them?" 

A big figure pointed again at the huddle, but the female stopped him and went over to a corner. There she took a first aid kit and handed it to Amelia. 

"Thanks." Amelia walked towards the group and crouched down by a man in a security uniform who was bleeding from his stomach.     

***

Evadne shot in her jumpsuit and placed Psylocke over her head. 

"Matt asked you to come as soon as you could to Rhino." Hondo said. Evadne thanked him and hopped into Wind Chaser. Two minutes later arrived by Rhino and walked up to the trailer. 

Matt, Bruce, Alex and Julio had their masks off and were watching images from the security cameras. Evadne took her mask also off and walked over to the group. "What is the situation?" she asked.  

"There are thirty-six hostages inside. Rax and Sheppard are guarding the doors. Gorey and Dagger are guarding the hostages. Mayhem and Vanessa are walking around. There is also a large group of normal soldiers." Matt quickly briefed her. 

"There two security guards seriously wounded. Shot wounds. There are also a few small wounds. But someone inside is taking care of them." Julio updated her about the medical facts. 

Evadne looked at the monitors and closely observed the hostages. The young woman with the honey blond hair seemed familiar. Until suddenly the woman turned her face towards one of the camera's. Evadne was shocked.

"Oh, shit. That's Amelia!!!" 

***

Amelia opened the kit to get the scissors. Kneeling down besides the guard with the wound on the stomach. "I am an ER nurse. I want to try to stop the bleeding." The man nodded and Amelia went to work. 

Besides her a girl about seventeen years old looked very interested. "Can I help you?" she asked. 

Amelia stopped for a second. "Maybe… Do you know first aid?"

The girl nodded. "I have taken classes at school since I was thirteen." 

"Okay. Look around for small injuries. Dress the ones you can. Otherwise I will help them in a moment. But before you go, what is your name?"

"That will work. My name is Emmy." Emmy said and she moved through the group. Amelia returned immediately returned to her work.   

***

"Amelia?" Alex asked. 

"We have been friends for twenty years. Amelia is my roommate and also works on the ER." Evadne quickly explained. Then she turned her attention back to the screen. 

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Brad entered. "Hondo and I have checked the surroundings. We have discovered the vehicles in a nearby garage, guarded by some normal soldiers."

"Let Dusty and Ace take them out and guard the vehicles." Matt ordered. 

Brad came a step closer and took a look at the monitors. "To bad we don't have a way to let them believe that the hostages are there, while they aren't."  

Julio, Matt and Evadne looked puzzled, but Alex and Bruce looked thoughtful. Suddenly Alex his face cleared and he started to type in the computer. "Well, Brad. Your idea might actually work. I have an idea that depends on the workings of the masks of Brad, Evadne and Jacques. Together you can create an illusion of the hostages, while they are being guided away…" 

"And as soon as they are gone, you guys can deals with the VENOM scum." Brad finished for him. 

"Exactly."      

***

Amelia had finished bandaging up the guard with the stomach wound. She had also finished with the other guard, who had a large wound in his leg. Emmy had dealt with the four or five smaller wounds. 

But while both guards were bandaged up, Amelia was still worried because both of them had a lot of blood. There for she went over to Mayhem and asked: "Is it possible for the two guards to be released? Both have lost too much blood." 

"You should already be glad that Vanessa allowed you to take care of the wounded. Get back to the group." The man simply turned around and Amelia went back to the group. 

When she was back by the group she was startled when someone behind her sucked in a sharp breath. She turned around to find a pregnant woman behind. "What is wrong? Have the contractions started?" she asked worried.

The woman only nodded while she sucked in another sharp breath. Amelia calmly guided her to the wall. "How far are you?" 

"Eight and half months." the woman replied and sucked in another sharp breath. Amelia was a bit concerned how fast the contractions came. She carefully took the time between the contractions. 

"Did it just start or did you notice this morning already something?" Amelia asked. 

"I have been having a backache for the entire morning, but this started just before." the woman replied. 

Amelia sat down besides the woman and asked for her name. It was the first child for Anna. Amelia hoped that they were freed for Anna had to give birth. It wasn't that she didn't know what to do, but this wasn't the place to deliver a child. 

***

The plan was set in motion carefully. The six inside Rhino put there masks on again and headed outside. Matt started simply with talking to the police, so that the camera crew and the public would be sent away. Alex in the meantime radioed Jacques and explained the plan to him. 

As soon as the police had done their job, Evadne, Jacques and Brad moved in position. "Maraj, on." Jacques commanded his mask and the three disappeared from sight. They moved silently between Rax and Bruno Sheppard.  

Evadne stayed by the door and whispered: "Psylocke on." The visor lighted up and she manipulated the minds of the people in the room so that they couldn't see her, Brad or Jacques.

Brad and Jacques moved over to the hostages. Jacques deactivated his mask and Evadne adjusted her manipulation so that the hostages could see the three extra people in the room, but that VENOM couldn't. 

Jacques and Brad quickly explained what the hostages needed to do. Then Brad activated his mask and an exact holographic image of the group appeared. Then Jacques activated his mask and guided the hostages away. The wounded were being helped by the others and Amelia was the last in the group. 

As soon as the group had passed between Sheppard and Rax the MASK agents rushed in. Evadne released her mental hold on VENOM and prepared herself for an eventual battle.

The VENOM agents were stunned for a second, just enough for the MASK agents to surround them. But when they realised what happened they didn't surrender. And the battle was on. 

***

Amelia heard the sounds inside the bank. She was helping to direct all the hostages towards the ambulances and gave the paramedics detailed descriptions the injuries and how she had treated them. 

When she was finished, she looked on more time to bank. Suddenly she noticed a specific piece of the battle through the open door. A figure dressed in pink and white was dealing with some of the normal soldiers, when on of the masked enemy appeared behind who wanted to hit her from behind. 

Amelia looked again. She noticed the flat asphalt leading to the open doors. She remember a situation like this before, but then while practicing. Her body seemed to remember the movements as if her mind wasn't necessary.

Her arms lifted up and on of her legs did the same. She set in a cartwheel and when she landed she used the force of the impact to flip towards the open doors. She flipped right though them and landed feet first in the back of the masked man. 

***

Evadne put a couple of the soldiers to sleep when she suddenly heard sounds behind her. She turned around sharply to see Amelia kicking Rax away from her. Amelia landed on her feet, quickly punching a soldier who was coming at her. 

Evadne smiled under her mask and said out loud: "Thank you, Amelia."  Then she turned back towards the soldiers. 

***

Amelia was stiffened for a moment. She had heard that voice somewhere before. But she didn't have the time to think, because the soldiers were also starting to attack her. She defended herself, but in the mean time observed the woman who she had helped. 

The woman seemed to do something with her mask and the soldiers suddenly felt towards the ground. Occasionally she used fighting moves. But… the fighting style seemed familiar to her. She couldn't place it directly, but the voice she had heard and the style combined. She couldn't believe she hadden't made the connection before. 

The woman in white and pink was Evadne… This must have been the emergencies and the trainings… She must have gone on MASK missions…

But soon Amelia had to put her thoughts away. She was still fighting the soldiers.

***

Between Evadne and Amelia the soldiers were quickly finished. Evadne went of to help one of the team mates, after she had sent Amelia toward the exit.  

Amelia did what her friend had said, but by the door she saw suddenly a man in a grey and red jumpsuit getting pummelled. She had seen enough on the news of MASK and VENOM to know that the two fighting men were the leaders of both organisations. 

The man in red and grey was floured again and nobody of his team mates seemed to be able in the position to help. Amelia didn't hesitate and thirty seconds later Miles Mayhem received a kick in the back of his knee. 

***

Miles Mayhem landed on the floor of the bank, face on the floor. He looked up and taking a few moments, he surveyed the situation in the bank. All the normal soldiers were taken out and the masked ones weren't doing well against the MASK agents. He then turned on his back and he was surprised at what he saw. It wasn't a MASK agent. 

In stead he saw a furious young woman with honey blond hair looking down at him. She didn't wear a mask or jumpsuit. He recognized her as the one who had taken care of the wounded hostages. 

A plan came up in his head. MASK always cared for civilians. When he took her down…

"Viper, on." He commanded. His mask released a cloud of green acid and the girl was trapped in the cloud. She fell on the ground, coughing and with tearing eyes. 

Then he heard the cry. "Amelia!" It was so full of pain that everyone stopped moving. Mayhem didn't hesitate and got to his feet, running towards the doors. Using the confusion for the moment, Gorey and Vanessa did the same, followed quickly by the others. 

Evadne didn't pay any attention, but was running towards her friend. She kneeled down and took a few seconds to remove her mask. Julio was with her in a few seconds. Alex and Matt stayed with them, but the rest went after the fleeing agents.

"She is unconscious, but still breathing. Her skin is burned in several places." Julio reported.

Evadne didn't say anything. She just sat there, with tears running over her cheeks. Alex removed his mask and placed his hand on her shoulder. "She will be okay, Evadne." He tried to console her.

"She will be. But she needs to get to a hospital." Julio said. 

"I don't want her in a normal hospital." Evadne whispered. The others didn't heard what she said, except Alex. 

"What did she say?" Matt said. 

"She doesn't want Amelia in a regular hospital." Alex said. 

Mat was silent for a moment. "Julio?" he asked. 

"That won't be a problem, Matt." he said, understanding what he meant. 

Matt gave some orders, put his mask on and went outside on his way to Thunderhawk. Julio followed with Amelia, while Alex and Evadne closed the line. When they were outside, police agents flowed in to arrest the still sleeping soldiers. 

***

"Feeling okay again, Evadne?" Dusty asked. 

Evadne smiled a bit. "I am fine." She let out a large yawn. "I need to talk to Matt and then I am gonna find a place to take a nap." she said, followed by a new yawn. 

They were back for about an hour at Boulder Hill. While under way, Evadne had calmed down quickly and arrived at Boulder Hill, she had helped Julio to take care of Amelia. After that she had spoken with Bruce for a second. Just long enough to hear that all the VENOM agents had escaped, but without their vehicles. 

Evadne said quickly goodbye to Dusty and went in search of Matt. She found him in the main command room, together with Alex. They were in a com link, talking with the boss of the PNA, Duane Kennedy. 

Evadne waited till they were finished and then walked forward. "Matt, do you have a moment?" 

Matt looked up from the paper before him. "Of course. Sit down." 

Evadne took a seat and tried to figure out where to start. Then wanted to speak, but let out another large yawn. "Sorry." she said, while she turned red. 

Matt and Alex just smiled at her reaction. 

"I am having a little problem on my work. Our head nurse, Mrs Trenchbull, is getting irritated with me. It's because I have to leave every time on an 'emergency'. I haven't been able to come up with a reasonable excuse. I have received already five or six lectures and she has been putting me on double shifts for two weeks already. By preference on the nightshift and then on the morning shift." Evadne said. She let out another very large yawn. 

"I see the results. I think we can arrange something with the help from the PNA.  I will contact them." Matt said with a pensive look on his face. "I take it you want to stay while Amelia is here?" 

"I hadn't planned on leaving. I am away from my work right now, so that few extra hours won't matter." Evadne yawned again. "They wouldn't have much use for me." 

"I see. Why don't you go to one of the sleeping quarters to take a nap?" Alex suggested. "We will be busy around her for a few hours. We will call you when something changes." 

Evadne only smiled thankful and yawned again. She turned around and made her way to the sleeping quarters. 

***

Something had changed. She wasn't lying on a hard floor anymore. And the burning in her throat and eyes was gone. 

Amelia opened her eyes warily. At first everything was blurry, but then her vision cleared. She was lying in some medical facility. 

A minor discomfort by her left elbow told her that an IV-drip had been put there. Also something was itching by her nose. Slowly she raised her right arm to feel a little tube. She was clear enough to realize that it supplied her with extra oxygen. 

She manoeuvred a little in the bed and managed to support herself on her elbows. This time she had a better view of the room. "Where the heck am I?" she said in the silence of the room. 

***

The answer appeared about ten minutes later in the form of a man with curly black hair and a moustache. Amelia had been manoeuvring again and now sat up with her pillow in her back.  

"How are you feeling?" the man asked. 

"Fine. Only I am a little bit confused. Where the heck am I? And how did I end up here?" Amelia asked directly. 

"My name is Julio Lopez. We brought you here so you could receive medical care after you were attacked by VENOM."

Amelia had the feeling pieces of the puzzle were falling into place. She clearly wasn't in a normal hospital. Could she be in MASK headquarters? "Am I in the headquarters of MASK?" 

The man looked up at her with surprise. "How did you figure this out?" 

"I recognized Evadne by her voice and fighting style at the bank. Soon it was clear what the emergencies were where she disappeared to. Knowing Evadne and by the look of this place, I figured out where I was… Is Evadne around here somewhere?" 

"She is sleeping in one of the sleeping quarters. We will wake her soon… Breathe in deeply, please." Julio told, while checking her out. 

Amelia did what he said, in the meantime thinking about her friend. "Finally she's getting some sleep." she whispered softly.

"What did you say, Miss…" Julio said. 

"My name is Amelia Cavanaugh. But please call me Amelia. I was just saying that I am just glad that Evadne was getting some sleep. By the way, how am I doing?" Amelia said. 

"Your lungs are clear again. And you are clearly awake. You can come out of bed if you want, but you need to take it easy for a few days."    

"Thank you. May I ask where Evadne is?" 

"It will leave you to get dressed. I promised to wake up Evadne when you awoke."

***

"Feeling beter, Amelia?" 

"I am fine. But could you please explain to me how you ended up becoming a MASK agent?" 

"I will explain everything in a minute. But Matt wants to see us." 

Both women left the infirmary and Amelia asked: "Matt?" 

"Matt Tracker. He is the team leader." Evadne explained. 

"Matt Tracker… The cute father of that boy… He is your team leader?" 

"Yes, Amelia. He is. Come, here we are." Evadne led Amelia inside the meeting room. Around the table were Matt, Alex, Julio and Bruce seated. Evadne also took a place and gestured Amelia to take the place by here side. 

"Amelia, you know Matt and Julio. These are Alex Sector and Bruce Sato. Alex, Bruce, this is Amelia Cavanaugh." Evadne quickly introduced everyone.  

Then Matt took the word. "The PNA has arranged everything in the hospital, Evadne. And you have a week off, to catch up some sleep." 

Evadne nodded her thanks and Matt turned towards Amelia. "You were very brave today, Miss Cavanaugh. Thanks for your help. But I hope you understand you can't tell anyone about what you have seen here today." 

"Please call me Amelia. I understand completely. But I hope you guys understand that I am not going to leave my friend to go to this alone. I don't need a fancy car or mask, but there must be something around here I can help with." Amelia said. 

"Amelia! Shut that big mouth of yours!" Evadne admonished. 

"What! We have been friends for twenty years. We have trained together for twenty years. I was the only one besides you and your brother who your father and mother taught all that stuff. I meant it. Otherwise I am gonna keep you home next time. You should have told me this a long time ago, girl."

Evadne sighed and put her head in her hands. The men at the table had been listening and smiled now a little. Amelia glared at them. 

"I think we can find something where you can help with. If you agree, Matt." Alex said.

"I think that wouldn't be a too big problem. Evadne, take your friend with you to the barbecue next week, then she can meet the other member of the team." 

"You guys have barbecues?!?" 

"Amelia, we aren't just team mates. We are also good friends." Evadne explained. Then she added softly. "But don't think about flirting or coupling me."

Amelia just laughed.           


End file.
